Machines that can accurately and efficiently filet a fish have been used for years now to speed up processing plants—though only with farmed fish that are all the same size and weight. Fish caught in the wild usually have to be processed by hand given they vary in size, but a new machine that employs x-ray vision and precise water jets can finally automate the filleting process.

Developed through a joint venture between several companies involved in the Norwegian fishing industry, the machine uses x-ray technology to locate the small pin-bones found in white fish like cod which usually have to be manually removed during the filleting process. And that usually results in three to seven percent of the fish's most valuable meat being lost in the process.

So instead of a knife, the new machine uses an incredibly precise high-pressure water jet to remove bones and filet each fish, maximizing the portions while speeding up the process. And while it will eliminate jobs, it should help improve Norway's fishing industry which has been dramatically shrinking over the past 40 years. [Sintef via Gizmag]